{mosimage} Textbook breaks down why exactly Common is ranking high on the charts and if it ranks up there with his previous works.
Chicago's Lonnie Lynn has always sounded a little more mature than your average MC, even when he was a young guy spitting knowledge on debut Can I Borrow A Dollar under his original name Common Sense. 15 years later he's still delivering his positive rhymes over snapping beats and is generally considered one of the poster boys for grown-up rap. It's not that he's intellectual like Canibus or political like Immortal Technique- he's just articulate, thoughtful and in touch with his emotions.
After his experimental fifth LP Electric Circus met with a frosty reception, Common went back to the basics with his sixth record Be. Produced mostly by fello Chi town alumni Kanye West it stripped back the crazy musical soundscapes of Electric Circus to go for some just plain solid hip-hop. It's an approach they're repeating for follow-up Finding Forever, Common on the mic, Kanye on the boards.
Common's adventurous side isn't entirely gone- that's some highly unusual cover art for a major hip-hop release and the album begins with a languid, dreamy keys and drums intro- but when the first real song, Start The Show comes along, Kanye brings back the boom-bap and Common's steady, clear flow will put any rap fan at ease. The Game, which brings in DJ Premier to lay some classic scratches onto West's beat, is a breath of fresh air after all this computer generated snap music rubbish passing for hip-hop these days.
While old heads may love The Game though, they may not feel much else here. Initially uncomfortable with the audience of "coffee house chicks and white dudes" that his style of MCing was attracting, he now seems entirely comfortable with it and like Be, this is a record more for that crowd than the thugs. Outside of Start The Show, The Game and pumping guitar sampling Chi anthem Southside, where Kanye drops the only guest rap, the album is quite laid-back and low-energy.
That's not a bad thing though. The People is one of the first rap hits I've heard in a while that has a brain in its head musically and lyrically. It may be old hat now for Common to rap about the struggles of the streets but he does it so well over Kanye's highly enjoyable beat which alternates strikingly between a happy high synth and some buzzing low strings. It's followed by Drivin' Me Wild on which Lilly Allen makes an unexpected appearance to sing the hook. It's a difficult song to judge- the music is extremely repetitive and grating but there's something about that simple melody that's catchy all the same.
Easy accessible jams are this CD's forte however- the sweet, melodic tale of romance Breaking My Heart with some standout vocal sampling, the Will I Am produced laidback love song I Want You, the D'Angelo featuring So Far To Go posthumously produced by J Dilla which is perfect to put on for a special evening. As you see from those three tracks, ladies feature highly as a subject of Common's but never in the "I'm a finna fuck this ho" way rap is so infamous for. He's respectful and honest at all times. But does he still bring it lyrically? See for yourself.
"He had paper since we was in we was in high school
Pop was a doc, mom taught at my school
Lock with the rocks, in his ears he kept jewels
One of the Diddy types, da D-D-Dame Dash dudes
Pushed a Maserati Sport, readin' the Robb Report
Wanted to be Mike but he was never live at sports
Since golf is in he was on the drivin' course
To live the rap life is what he was strivin' for
Spendin' cash at the bar to get credit
Drinkin' Chaundon just because Big said it
They say Ye is but dude was big headed
Rocked the fur in the summer so somebody'd pet it
He had a fetish for shoes that's athletic
Pathetic on his MySpace page half nekkid
It's a shame what they do for fame and to be respected
Joe, you coulda got it if you never woulda stressed it"
-Drivin' Me Wild
"Know when to use a rifle and when to use a bible
You rap like you should be on the back of a motorcycle"
-Southside
"The ones that make it always ain't the talented
Some dreams get lost never to be found again
At first strippin' seemed so empowerin'
Most every girl wanna do it now and then
But bein' meat every day is devourin'"
-Misunderstood
Speaking of his lyrics, he's copping some flack for referencing everything from Lance Bass to OK Go- isn't that stuff a bit white/lame for rap? Well it's like when Jay-Z collabed with Chris Martin – some will see it as rap expanding its horizons and forgetting the little ghetto/gangster poses it refuses to move on from, some will get uncomfortable at the lack of bitches and blunts. If you want to keep it hood, Common was never your thing anyway so go buy a Crime Mob album or something.
The album finishes with two real winners. Misunderstood's lyric of troubled people turning to god over Devo Springsteen's dark Nina Simone sample is a deep, reflective listen. The light comes shining in for final track though, Forever Begins. Over an exhilirating, joyous beat from Kanye which surges to an ecstatic chorus, Common contemplates mortality and reaches the conclusion that the only way he can live forever is through his music. And as is tradition with Common albums, his father turns up with a poetic spoken word piece to close the album in his magnificent, rich, worn voice.
Still talking smack like a pro over a rocking beat like Start The Show or Southside and still presenting real values and beliefs on more unconventional fare like Forever Begins, Common remains one of rap's treasures. It could be argued that the record is a little soft or that it's a retread of Be but for the oft neglected fan of mellow rap, or those who are interested in hip-hop but not the offensive content it's often hand-in-hand with, Common has made another record well worth purchasing.
